Album Review: The Maine – Lovely Little Lonely

Posted on April 4, 2017

The Maine are back with a new full-length album–their sixth, to be exact. After a little break in recording to tour for their 2015 album American Candy, their new record Lovely Little Lonelycomes as a sweet kickoff to a new era. Lovely Little Lonely expresses subtle differences from American Candy, which took a little bit of adjusting to. The album is just slightly poppier than their usual alt-rock vibe. Choruses and songs on the new album are more repetitive as a whole but still maintain enough depth in the verses to equate to past albums.

LLL delicately outlines the highs and lows of youth and the transition into adulthood. The album makes sure to represent the feelings that we are unsure of many things in life, but there are a few things we know that we know. This album highlights both the uncertainties and the things we are sure of as we progress in life, especially as young adults in and around our college days. Much like the band’s 20120 album Pioneer, the whole of Lovely Little Lonely gives the feeling of being young and discovering your place in the world. Many tracks, such as “Bad Behavior” and “Don’t Come Down” carry the college party days-esque vibe and exhibit tones of young love.

“Don’t Come Down” is a strong opening song about being young and free. This track is comparable to “Fucked Up Kids” from the album Forever Halloween. The song feels like an extension of the “raw and invincible” aspect of “Fucked Up Kids.” However, rather than someone being alone, there is upbeat feeling of invincibility with a significant other.

“Black Butterflies & Déjà Vu” is a cerebral, interrogatory song about the thought process behind having a crush and mustering the courage to do something about it. The track is about forcing through the anxiety, or “black butterflies,” of letting someone know how you feel about them. The track provides beautiful and powerful imagery to express the feelings synonymous to anyone experiencing a crush.

“Taxi” is my personal favorite track from Lovely Little Lonely. This slower song gives the vibe of a tangle between American Candy‘s “(Un)lost” and “24 Floors.” The song is vaguely reminiscent, and it doesn’t tell a specific story, but it has a nostalgic feeling that the listener can relate to. It tells the story of two people, whether friends or significant others, contemplating life and the hardships that come with it. The two find comfort in each other to complete an uplifting song about pushing through the toughest of times.

One of the albums most reminiscent tracks is “The Sound of Reverie,” which revolves around looking back on the things they never did and how they can only focus on the present because the future isn’t here yet. they’re not as young as they used to be but they’re still young. While the song is reminiscent in nature, the lyrics focus on living in the moment. The recurring “don’t blink” theme of the song reminds the listener that things change in an instant and nothing can be taken for granted.

Speaking of nostalgia! The track “Lost in Nostalgia” is a short but sweet track featuring soft vocals and calming instruments. It gives a nice change in pace as one of the album’s slower/more downbeat songs.

The three title tracks (yes, The Maine did That™) fade beautifully into the songs before and after each track. “Lovely” is the album’s only fully instrumental track, with “Little” not straying far behind. “Little” is wildly close to the backing music of the album promo videos. Can you believe The Maine almost gave us a song right under our noses? Although “Lonely” contains lyrics, the track gives off an ambient feeling with echoing and sparse/sporadic vocals.

Although at first Lovely Little Lonely‘s slightly tweaked sound as compared to the band’s earlier music took a couple of listens to get adjusted to, the album is very solid and definitely worth listening to. It still has the vibe that is easily recognizable as The Maine. It’s definitely going to be one of my favorite albums this year.

Be sure to check out Lovely Little Lonely when it drops on April 7th and vibe up. 🖖🏼☝🏼